b'EDUCATION"Most schools had some kind of software or parent portals, which were definitely a saving grace. They jumped on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. They held weekly Zoom calls to ensure that parents were well informed" Fiona Parke, Canadian Accredited Independent Schoolsthe only people who have had access to campus, but we reallyCagney:We have our own network system for information that value our parents, so we have had to find a way to welcomeall parents, students and teachers can access. We used Zoom for them virtually. parent-student classes and one-to-one time. We ensured many activities were highlighted on social media to show the lighter Harrison:We were well on the way of adapting our Blendedside of life and we developed our own in-house magazines, which Learning model when lockdown kicked in. Blended Learningattracted high readership and engagement across our communities.blends where and how learning happens: online at home, and through guided practice in class at school. So the COVID restric-tions meant that we could continue to educate all of our studentsWhat tips and tricks have you learned?no matter where they were. For boarders, we were able to offerParke:Our schools are being mindful about whats going on with a place for the minority of students who could not return hometheir faculty and staff. Ensuring that our teams, teachers and staff after lockdown restrictions came into force to feel at home, and fullthat work in operations are being taken care of has really stood out quarantine facilities for all students returning in advance of thein our schools.schools opening up again, no matter where they came from.How have you managed communication with parents?Levy:We have a Community Liaison Officer (CLO) who has endeavoured to create programs in conjunction with our parents association and our advancement office that would bring parents together. For example, weve done cooking classes with a profes-sional chef. When new families were arriving in Montreal and had to quarantine, there was a whole support structure in place to welcome them. We had already established a parent-mentor program. These families stepped up to pick up groceries and other things they might need. We also provided information about provisions.Most of our communications are digital. We have a weekly news-letter and an international parent handbook. We also have a new-parent portal, and we created a new-parent Facebook group. In addition to regular information sessions, were doing a couple of events called Ask Me Anything.Parke:Most schools had some kind of software or parent portals, which were definitely a saving grace. They jumped on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. They held weekly Zoom calls to ensure that parents were well informed and some have been doing language-specific Zoom sessions.Kittell:Best practice in crisis management includes honest, open and constant communication. I think its fair to say ACS met this standard, setting up a COVID-19 Task Force of senior leaders and internal and external experts months before lockdowns were imposed. Our chief executive then shared detailed action plans before they were implemented. Execution was the next step, and parent surveys suggest we got things mostly right.Summer 2021PERSPECTIVES19'